Editorial: Shipbuilding plans need a reality check

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Editorial: Shipbuilding plans need a reality check

For a decade, the Navy placed its next-generation destroyer at the center of its surface ship plans.

At one time, the service planned to buy 32 of the stealthy, all-electric Zumwalt-class ships to support Marines ashore and serve as the basis for a future missile defense cruiser.

Critics said it was too expensive, potentially unstable — thanks to a stealthy hull — and with only seven ships now planned, not nearly enough to meet the Marines’ naval gunfire support requirement. But the Navy persisted.

Now, with two of the ships under construction and unit cost estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $5 billion, some lawmakers say it’s time to halt the program.

Some want to use the money to buy more Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Others want an additional San Antonio-class amphibious ship and two extra T-AKE auxiliaries.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/community/opinion/navy_editorial_reality_033108/